Broadband Access: Country Comparison And Initiatives

Country Comparison

Discuss about the Australian National Broadband Plan for FCC.

Broadband access refers to high-speed Internet access which is always on and faster than conventional dial-up or ISDN Internet access. Broadband is offered through DSL, fibre-optic and satellite. Although the Internet was discovered by the US, users in other highly developed countries seem to be using and enjoying faster broadband access than their US counter parts.  According to latest research by the OECD, the country with the highest broadband access is Bulgaria standing at 96 % [1].  Other countries with high broadband access from the statistics include South Korea, which was in the top position for many years, Switzerland, Denmark, Israel and Netherlands.  In terms of broadband subscriptions per capita, Switzerland is on top with more than 40%.  The US takes position 24 in broadband access, and comes position 20 worldwide for broadband subscriptions per capita, just head of Japan [2]. One of the reason why countries like Bulgaria, South Korea, Japan and European Nations have high broadband access rates is as a result of national government infrastructure initiatives.

High Internet speeds largely depends on strategic planning, designing and modern infrastructure.  In South Korea, Japan, Bulgaria, government planning and initiatives have made it possible for the countries to have infrastructures to support high speed broadband connections. In the US, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has already revealed the particulars of a broadband plan designed to provide high-speed Internet to Americans. FCC plans to expand broadband Internet infrastructure to provide over 90 American households with fast internet by 2020.  If the proposal by FCC succeeds, the U.S. will become the biggest market of fast broadband to end-users globally [3] . The Australian government National Broadband plan is also underway to provide about 93 percent Australian citizens with high-speed Internet [4].

The Australian Government made a decision to expand the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN) with speeds of up to 100Mbps in 2009 [4]. The plan also would ensure that over 90% Australian households and businesses in rural and urban centres will have access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology [5].  In 2011, NBN work begun but progress was been braked by political and operational difficulties, but NBN is pressing on towards providing fast broadband access to subscribers as the project unfolds. NPN plan is set to bring faster broadband developments to Australians, with intense consequences for the country’s social and economic framework [6]. In 2014, the Australian government publicized that the NBN would amend to a multi-technology-mix model aiming for at least 100 Mbit/s from fibre-to-premises approach. The team has continued to meet project targets in the pursuit to provide Australians with fast broadband access at reasonable prices regardless of how difficult or remote their home is to connect., NBN is on track and expects  to connect more or less three out of  four premises by 30 June 2018 [7].

Government Infrastructure Initiatives

In this day and age, having internet access is very crucial as digital technologies continue to play a central role in life.  Many of our daily routine activities have shifted online and being able to use digital technologies has numerous benefits including  access to internet services, online banking, online shopping, working, finding information, and socializing with friends and family. However, there’s a significant gap – a digital divide – between those who are connected and those who are not. In Australia, the digital divide exists and it comes with the risk of increasing social, cultural and economic disparities [8].  Digital inclusion is determined by some factors including social and economic factors.  For instance, low income earners, illiteracy and unemployed folks in in Australia are considerably less digital [9] . Hence, there is a huge ‘digital divide’ among rich and poor.  Additionally, there are significant differences between digital access in urban and rural areas. Digital inclusion stands at 6.6 points higher in urban areas countrywide. However, since 2014, digital ability has improved with increased attitudes and confidence, basic Skills, and activities towards digital activities. To reduce the digital divide, the government, businesses, educational institutes and social groups need to work together to ensure digital technologies adoption for everyone.  The NBN plan by the government to provide low cost internet for all users in both rural and urban areas is one way of reducing the digital divide.  To fight the digital divide, over 100 companies have come together through the association Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA) to accelerate digital inclusion [10]. The agreement established by InfoXchange is supported by Google, Australia Post, and Telstra. ADIA seeks to connect knowledge, skills, and capabilities of enterprises in the country to lessen digital divide and support social and economic participation for all Australians through the use of mobile and online technologies.

Countries with low broadband access are located in mostly Africa [11].  Eritrea is at the bottom of the list with only 0.91 access.  Located North of Australia, Timor-Leste has only 1% of broadband connection.  Myanmar has 1.16%, followed by Burundi with   1.39% and Sierra Leone with 1.49%.  Somalia follows with 1.51%, Niger 1.61%, Ethiopia 1.7%, Guinea 1.7% and Congo 1.92%. Better and high speed internet access requires high cost modern infrastructure which the countries with poor access cannot afford. 

Countries like Somalia and Libya have low broadband access as a result of increased political disruptions and lack of support from the national governments through infrastructure layering ISP providers also target only the economically visible regions and leave the rest of the regions without or with low and poor quality network systems.

There are many benefits associated with high broadband access according to [12]

• High-speed broadband connection gives users a great ability to send and receive data across the world. It allows users to access the Internet, and browse and  download files
• Broadband connection has 24hr access
• Allows for effective budgeting since it comes at fixed prices
• Allows information sharing amongst several devices e.g. Computers, Tablet PC’s, mobile phones, games console and more.
• Remote working – with more and more companies allowing remote working, broadband facilitates users to work remotely from home 
• Access to learning resources and support forums – For learners across the board, broadband access allows access to learning resources and research in varied formats.
• Access to TV, Radio, and interactive Online games
• Services including online shopping, online banking

Conclusion

The Internet has come a long way from dial up, PSTN connections to now high speed broadband access. It has enabled user access to Internet services, hardware’s, applications and even entire IT infrastructures. Some countries are far much ahead of others with regard to broadband access with Bulgaria, South Korea, Japan and more topping the countries with the highest speeds. Eritrea, Myanmar, Burundi and Sierra Leone are some of the countries with low broadband access. In the digital era, broadband access is very crucial for access to increasing modern digital technologies.  It is thus important for National governments across the globe to implement initiatives to ensure support for broadband access for citizens.

References

[1] Sofia News Agency, "Bulgaria Is World Leader in Broadband Adoption Rate," Non-invite, 24 April 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.novinite.com/articles/168106/Bulgaria+Is+World+Leader+in+Broadband+Adoption+Rate. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[2] UNESCO, "UN Broadband Commission releases latest country-by-country data on state of broadband access worldwide," UNESCO , 2013. [Online]. Available: https://en.unesco.org/news/broadband-commission-releases-latest-country-country-data-state-broadband-access-worldwide. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[3] J. Sutter, "FCC releases some details of its broadband plan," https://edition.cnn.com, 15 March 2010. [Online]. Available: https://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/15/fcc.broadband.plan/index.html. [Accessed 30 April 2018].
[4] Telegraphy, "Australian government details new national broadband plans," Telegraphy , 7 April 2009. [Online]. Available: https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2009/04/07/australian-government-details-new-national-broadband-plans/. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[5] Sen Hellen Coonan Web Archives, "Australia Connected: Fast affordable broadband for all Australians," Media Release Web Archive, 18 June 2007. [Online]. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20080723074518/https://www.minister.dcita.gov.au/coonan/media/media_releases/australia_connected_fast_affordable_broadband_for_all_australians. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[6] National BroadbandNetwork Australia, "NBN Co releases 12-month national rollout plan," National BroadbandNetwork Australia, 18 October 2011. [Online]. Available: https://www2.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-co-releases-12-month-national-rollout-plan.html. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[7] National Broadband Network, "NBA Annual Report 2016-2017," 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www2.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/images/media-releases/nbn-annual-report-2016-2017.pdf. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[8] The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2016, "Measuring Australian's Digital Divide," 2016. [Online]. Available: https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Australian-Digital-Inclusion-Index-2016.pdf. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[9] M. Sharma, "Digital divide still an issue for low income earners," The Sydney Morning Herald , 26 February 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/digital-divide-still-an-issue-for-low-income-earners-20140226-33i7l.html. [Accessed 29 April 2018].
[10] InfoXchange, "The Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance launches to reduce the digital divide," InfoXchange, 2 August 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.infoxchange.org/au/news/2017/08/australian-digital-inclusion-alliance-launches-reduce-digital-divide. [Accessed 30 April 2018].
[11] G. Claire, "These countries have the world's worst Internet access," Fortune, 6 October 2015. [Online]. Available: https://fortune.com/2015/10/06/worst-internet-access/. [Accessed 30 April 2018].
[12] Onlincolnshire, "Benefits of broadband," Onlincolnshire, [Online]. Available: https://www.onlincolnshire.org/broadband-for-residents/benefits-of-broadband. [Accessed 30 April 2018].